Straight From the Horse’s Mouth | A Bitter Pill | Draw a Line

Exercise 1

Vocabulary

straight from the horse’s mouth

Phrase

streɪt frəm ðə ˈhɔrsəz maʊθ

receiving information directly from the source

I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth: Elizabeth is pregnant.

a bitter pill (to swallow)

Phrase

ə ˈbɪtər pɪl tə ˈswɑːloʊ

something unpleasant that is difficult to accept

Moving to another city was a bitter pill; however, I was happy to get a promotion.

Losing that game was a bitter pill for him to swallow.

draw a line

Phrase

drɔ ə laɪn

to distinguish between two things

You have to draw a line between your work and your personal life.

She needs to draw a line between what is truly important and what is not.

off (one’s) rocker

Phrase

ɔf wʌnz ˈrɑkər

crazy or insane

Did he just eat a spider?! He’s off his rocker!

Have you gone completely off your rocker? You can’t say that in public!

Exercise 2

Dialogue Practice

Read the dialogue aloud with your teacher.

Nathan	Have you heard, Lauren? Matt got a new car!
Lauren	Really?
Nathan	I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth!
Lauren	Okay, then, so what’s all the fuss about?
Nathan	Well, he crashed his last car. And this new one is very expensive! Crashing it would be a bitter pill to swallow.
Lauren	What type of car is it?
Nathan	A brand new Mercedes!
Lauren	He’s off his rocker! How can he possibly afford that?
Nathan	I have no idea. Everyone on campus is talking about it.
Lauren	He definitely needs to draw a line between what is worth spending that much money on and what is not.
Nathan	Yeah, I totally agree.

Exercise 3

Article

Read the passage aloud with your teacher.

A few years ago, I went to my high-school prom. A lot of people told me I was off my rocker when I told them that I had bought a dress from a second-hand store. People I told about it went on to tell everyone else. No one believed them, even though they said that they had heard it straight from the horse's mouth. It was a bitter pill to hear my friends telling me things like: “You must be joking” or “You should have had a dress sewn." To be honest, I bought the dress really cheap, and my mom helped me tailor it. In the end, I looked great. In fact, I looked much better than some of the girls who bought expensive designer dresses. Sometimes you just have to draw a line between your opinion and everyone else’s.

Exercise 4

Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with the correct idioms to complete the dialogue.

Hannah and Lauren are discussing the latest news.
Hannah	Hi!
Lauren	Hi, Hannah! You look great! Did you get a haircut?
Hannah	It’s (1): you never notice the right thing!
Lauren	Sorry...
Hannah	It’s my new coat. It looks good, doesn’t it?
Lauren	It really does.
Hannah	Anyway, have you heard already? Charlie is starring in a sitcom!
Lauren	No way!
Hannah	I heard it (2)!
Lauren	I don’t believe you! He’s (3)! He has never done any acting before.
Hannah	He might be talented. We'll have to wait and see.
Lauren	It’s so hard to imagine him as an actor!
Hannah	I know, right? I hope his acting won't affect his grades, though. He'll just have to (4) at some point.